Review: Remember that a "sentence base" is always simply a subject and a verb (S-V).
The simplest way to expand a sentence base is by adding individual modifiers -- adjectives and adverbs. These are called modifiers because they modify, enhance, or change the nouns or verbs they accompany.
DEFINITION: Adjectives and Adverbs.
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun: it answers which one, how many, or what kind. Some examples: "the big one"; "seven books"; "a devoted student." (Most adjectives can also go in the predicate position after the verb: "This one is big; "That student is devoted.")
Adverbs, on the other hand, usually modify verbs, and answer in what manner, to what degree, when, how, how many times, and so forth. Some examples: "He ran quickly"; "I'll do it soon"; "We went twice."
Sometimes adverbs modify not verbs but adjectives or other adverbs: "She finished very quickly" (very modifies the adverb quickly, which in turn modifies the verb finished); "The work was clearly inadequate" (clearly modifies the adjective inadequate, which in turn modifies work).
The easiest way to spot adverbs is to look for the telltale -ly suffix. Be careful, though; not all adverbs end in -ly, and not all -ly words are adverbs. Soon, twice, and never, for instance, are adverbs (they tell when or how often); friendly, ugly, and northerly are adjectives (they modify nouns).
Some stylistic advice: go easy on the adjectives and adverbs. It would be foolish to cut them out altogether, but many people overuse them. Too many adjectives and adverbs tend to make your writing sound stilted or faux-poetic, and they rarely add much precision. The nouns and verbs are the words that should be doing the hard work, with adjectives and adverbs playing only a supporting role. As Strunk and White put it, "The adjective hasn't been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place."
Examples:
1) Julia (S) is (V) a fast reader (SC) and a thoughtful speaker (SC). (adjectives)
2) Mr. Salsich (S) reads (V) very slowly because he is a somewhat slow-thinking person. (adverbs -- "very" modifies the adverb "slowly", and the adverb "somewhat" modifies the adjective "slow-thinking".)
(Warning: Be very careful in using adjectives and adverbs. Be sure each one is helpful and apt. One of the worst things you can do to your writing is add modifiers needlessly and improperly, just for the sake of expanding your sentence. Be very careful. Ask yourself: "Is this modifier truly helpful, and is it apt?" If the answer to either question is No, then don't use the modifier.)
By adding an adverb, we can expand a sentence base this way: "Asia reads intelligently."
"Intelligently" is called a modifier, because it modifies, enhances, and or changes the verb "reads". It answers the question, "How does Asia read?" Answer: She reads intelligently.
We can also expand a sentence base by adding an adjective: "Talented Madeline can hurl a lacrosse ball very far." Here, the adjective "talented" tells us a little more about (or modifies) the noun "Madeline". (Bonus question: What parts of speech are "very" and "far"???)
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PRACTICE: Expand these sentence bases by adding single-word modifiers (adjectives or adverbs).
* Lily and some friends built a clubhouse in the woods.
* Joseph lives in a castle by the sea. (Bonus: What kind of verb is "lives"???)
* Julia is a girl who will grow up to be president. (Bonus: "girl" is a noun, but what part of the sentence is it??)
